148 years in pictures
Census counts: 573 in 1920, 133,434 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1972 and 5 maps from 1931 on.
- 1878Carrollton is settled
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 134,562, settled in 1878.
For a city of 134,562, Carrollton does well: it grades B, ranked 110th of 640 in Texas. The median household earns $101K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 80% of the country. The trade-off: homes are expensive, about $396K for a typical one and 4.4 times the Dallas metro’s $90K median household income. On walkability, just 87 of Texas’ 999 towns do better. Carrollton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 91 of Texas’ 1,000 towns do better.
Where Carrollton beats most towns.
119,097 counted in 2010 and 133,434 in 2020; an estimated 134,562 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 12% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Texas), ordered by how far Carrollton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 573 in 1920, 133,434 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1972 and 5 maps from 1931 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Carrollton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaAT&T Stadium
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaCotton Bowl
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaTexas Stadium
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaGlobe Life Field
19 mi Theme parkSix Flags Over Texas
20 mi Stadium & arenaChoctaw StadiumAT&T Stadium: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cotton Bowl: Robbiewest88, Public domain · Texas Stadium: Allspamme, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Globe Life Field: Drone To Fly, CC BY 3.0 · Six Flags Over Texas: Chris Hagerman from New Port Richey, FL, US, CC BY 2.0 · Choctaw Stadium: KENGRIFFEY24FAN, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carrollton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Carrollton.
Carrollton has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
11% of Carrollton adults report frequent physical distress, below both Texas’ towns (15%) and U.S. towns (14%). 9.8% of adults smoke cigarettes in Carrollton. Carrollton beats the Texas average on 18 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Carrollton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Carrollton | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.2% | 12.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 8% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. Three of its 44 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 974 | C |
| Hebron H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,668 | A |
| McCoy ElTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 410 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TX on state tests and graduation
In the comparison, Carrollton comes above both the Texas town median (1.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). 14 miles of trail in 32 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is R J McInnish Park, 204 acres with 2.2 miles of trail.
| Carrollton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.8% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. R J McInnish Park | 2.2 mi | 204 |
| 2. Elm Fork Nature Preserve | 1 mi | 36 |
| 3. Sam Houston Trail Park | 0.5 mi | 200 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Carrollton’s median rent is $1,735 a month. The typical Carrollton home is worth about $396,000, down 1.4% in a year, 34% above the Texas typical home. 59% of Carrollton households own their home.
| Carrollton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,735 a month | $1,206 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 69% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 95.6°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.4°.
Carrollton has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Carrollton is 96°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Carrollton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 95°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 37°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Carrollton for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Carrollton grew to 88,300 in 2023, 14,595 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Dallas (23%), Plano (9%) and Irving (7%).
| Carrollton | Texas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 22% | 9.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 76 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carrollton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 2,247 to 1,475 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 130 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
18 within 15 miles of the center of Carrollton
About 6 of every 100 Carrollton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Texas.
11 notable people were born in Carrollton.



City in the United States
Carrollton is a city in Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the 27th-most populous city in Texas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Carrollton.
| Town | TX rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrollton | #110 | B | D | B− | B+ | A− |
| Dallas | #567 | D | C− | D | C− | C+ |
| Hebron | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lewisville | #194 | B− | D | C+ | A− | B+ |
| Coppell | #17 | A | D | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| The Colony | #139 | B | D | C+ | B+ | A |
| Plano | #91 | B+ | D | B− | A− | A |
| Addison | #404 | C− | D− | D− | C− | A |
Hebron isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Carrollton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Carrollton grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #110 of 640 in Texas. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
11 notable people were born here, including Katie Meili and Anthony Ampaipitakwong.